According to The Athletic, Fabio Vieira is in talks with Bundesliga side Stuttgart over a permanent move.
The 25-year-old midfielder is surplus to requirements at the Emirates after a largely underwhelming three-year spell. Signed from Porto in a surprise €35 million deal, Vieira never truly adapted to the demands of the Premier League, making 49 appearances before returning to his boyhood club on loan last season.
That move coincided with the emergence of Ethan Nwaneri, and given the teenager’s rise, a clear pathway back into the Arsenal first team always looked unlikely for Vieira, who still has two years remaining on his contract.
Having featured in the Club World Cup over the summer, Vieira is currently on holiday and now seems unlikely to play any part in what remains of pre-season.
Arsenal will be hoping to seal a swift sale as they continue efforts to trim the squad. Other players expected to leave include Karl Hein, Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, while uncertainty also lingers over the futures of Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior.
It’ll be interesting to see how much Andrea Berta can recoup for Vieira, and whether the deal helps to shift the narrative around Arsenal’s struggles to secure big-money sales.
Supporters will also be hoping funds will be reinvested, although after a busy summer of incomings, that’s far from guaranteed.